A three-kilometre-long canal has been carved out by a man to take rainwater coming down from nearby hills to his village field in Kothilawa in Lahthua area of Gaya.
The canal, which took 30 years to complete, has been dug single-handedly by Laungi Bhuiyan.
“It took me 30 years to dig the tunnel,” said Bhuiyan while speaking to the media.
“For the last 30 years, I would go to the nearby jungle to tend my cattle and dig out the canal,” he further said.
“No one joined me in this endeavour. Villagers are going to cities to earn a livelihood but I decided to stay back,” he further said.
Kothilwa village is surrounded by dense forest and mountains, about 80 km away from Gaya district headquarters.
This village is marked as a refuge for Maoists.
The main means of livelihood for the people here are farming and animal husbandry.
During the rainy season, the water falling from the mountains used to flow into the river which used to bother Bhuiyan.
This gave him the idea of carving out a canal, which he said will be beneficial for not just to one or two persons, but to an entire village.
He worked hard in order to save water coming from the mountains and utilise it.
“He has been carving out the canal for the last 30 years that too single-handedly,” said a local resident.
“This will benefit a large number of animals and to irrigate the fields as well,” he added.
“He is not doing it for his own benefit but for the entire area,” the local added.
Ram Vilas Singh, a teacher who resides in Kothilawa, praised Bhuiyan for benefiting the villagers and their fields.
“A lot of people will benefit here. People are now getting to know him because of his work,” he added.
